1. Sun Jian , courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
36 Facts About Sun Jian
1. 3.
In 191, Sun Jian was killed in battle during an offensive campaign against Liu Biao.
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Sun Jian was the father of Sun Quan, one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms era who eventually established the Eastern Wu state and declared himself its first emperor in 229, whereupon Sun Jian was given the posthumous title Emperor Wulie.
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Sun Jian was born in Fuchun County, Wu Commandery, around present day Fuyang, Zhejiang.
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Sun Jian was allegedly a descendant of Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War.
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Sun Jian was a civil official in his home county during his youth.
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When he was 16, Sun Jian travelled with his father to Qiantang, where they encountered a band of pirates dividing up their spoils on land.
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Sun Jian jumped on shore with a sabre in hand and pointed in different directions as if commanding a detachment of soldiers to surround the pirates.
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Sun Jian pursued, and only after beheading one pirate did he return.
11.
Sun Jian raised a militia of about 1,000 men and served with distinction, whereupon he was recommended to the court by Yang Province Inspector Zang Min.
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Sun Jian was consequently rewarded with a post as assistant magistrate in Guangling Commandery, and later in two counties in Xiapi.
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Sun Jian placed himself in the forefront and climbed onto the city walls alone.
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Sun Jian defeated the rebel leaders Ou Xing, Zhou Chao and Guo Shi, and suppressed both rebellions.
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Sun Jian raised an army and joined Yuan Shu, one of the leaders of the coalition at Luyang.
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Sun Jian then began training and preparing his troops at Luyang.
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When Sun Jian moved out to Liangdong, he was outnumbered by Dong Zhuo's forces.
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Sun Jian took off the red felt scarf he had always been wearing and handed it to his trusted aide Zu Mao, whom Dong Zhuo's soldiers then chased after while Sun Jian escaped.
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However, Sun Jian rejected the proposals with harsh words and continued to lead his troops towards Luoyang.
21.
Sun Jian defeated Liu Biao's forces led by Huang Zu and pursued the enemy across the Han River to Xiangyang.
22.
Sun Jian was buried in the Gao Mausoleum in Qu'e.
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Sun Jian was survived by at least five sons and three daughters.
24.
Sun Jian Quan built on his brother's legacy and eventually established the state of Eastern Wu in 229, with himself as its founding emperor, during the Three Kingdoms period.
25.
Lady Sun Jian later married the warlord and founder of the state of Shu Han, Liu Bei, in an attempt to forge an alliance to defeat Cao Cao after the Battle of Red Cliff.
26.
Pei Songzhi in his commentary found in Sun Ce's biography of Sanguozhi noted that Sun Jian dying in 192 as recorded in his Sanguozhi biography should be an error, noting that Zhang Fan's Annals of Han and the Wu Li both recorded that Sun Jian died in 191.
27.
Sima Guang, in his Zizhi Tongjian Kao Yi, agreed that Sun Jian died in 191.
28.
Wang Can's Records of Heroes recorded that Sun Jian died on the 7th day of the 1st month of the 4th year of the Chuping era.
29.
Sun Jian first appears the novel in Chapter 2 as a great warrior and descendant of Sun Tzu who takes part in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
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However, when his men found a jade seal, which was proven to be the imperial seal, Sun Jian grew ambitious and requested to retreat to his base.
31.
Sun's camp reclaimed Sun Jian's corpse using a captive, Huang Zu, who was Liu Biao's brother-in-law.
32.
Sun Jian is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.
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Sun Jian appears in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.
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Sun Jian is a playable warlord in the 2019 game Total War: Three Kingdoms by Creative Assembly.
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Sun Jian's design invokes a white tiger motif as he was known in life as the Tiger of Jiandong.
36.
In Koei's 2023 video game Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Sun Jian appears as a character and one of the bosses of the game.